Israeli intelligence officials have confirmed that a major explosion has rocked an Iranian nuclear facility, according to a report Monday in The Times of London.

The British daily cited officials in Tel Aviv who said the blast occurred last week, as originally reported on the website wnd.com.

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“We are still in the preliminary stages of understanding what happened and how significant it is,” one Israeli official told the London Times. He did not know if the explosion was “sabotage or accident” and refused to comment on reports that Israeli aircraft were seen near Fordo at the time of the blast.

On Sunday, two senior Iranian officials dismissed reports of the explosion.

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The original wnd.com report published Friday claimed that a blast deep within Fordo last Monday “destroyed much of the installation and trapped about 240 personnel deep underground,” citing information from former intelligence officer Hamidreza Zakeri, who it said used to work with the Islamic regime’s Ministry of Intelligence and National Security.

The article claimed the blast “shook facilities within a radius of three miles,” that Iranian security forces had “enforced a no-traffic radius of 15 miles,” that the Tehran-Qom highway was shut down for several hours after the blast, and that, “as of Wednesday afternoon, rescue workers had failed to reach the trapped personnel.” It said US officials were aware of the reported blast.

Iranian dissident-turned CIA operative Reza Kahlili told The Jerusalem Post on Monday that an alleged blast at the Fordow nuclear installation in Iran is “the largest case of sabotage in decades.”

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“This is the center of the Iranian nuclear program. It’s essential for the regime, its activities, and its nuclear program. If such a blow was given to Fordow, it definitely harms [Iran] drastically. They were reaching for 20 percent uranium enrichment, and were increasing output,” he added.

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Kahlili went on to say that the “first suspicion is Israel” within the Islamic Republic. “I have verified information that there was a meeting [called by Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali] Khamenei. A decision was made to act in Lebanon. A request was made to [Hezbollah chief Hassan] Nasrallah to vacate southern Lebanese villages. Islamic Republic Guards are on their way there. A decision has been made to prepare for missile launch from a certain area in Lebanon against Israel,” he said.

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Iranian authorities have not yet made any progress in their attempt to enter Fordow, Kahlili asserted, adding, “I fear there is radiation involved.” Iran’s defense ministry dispatched drilling vehicles, “the same they used to carve tunnels and create underground facilities, to see if they can make any headway in opening emergency exists, because they collapsed. Among those stuck in the facility are dozens of foreign nationals. These are contracted scientists,” he said.

Kahlili said a second mysterious blast occurred in Tehran last week, at an IRGC base called “21 Hamza.” “There are injuries, and there have been arrests of IRGC members who are being questioned. The Intelligence Ministry suspects sabotage,” he added.

A blast sounded Saturday in the area of a Hezbollah ammunition compound in west Lebanon, media affiliated with anti-Hezbollah forces reported.

According to the Lebanese Al-Mustaqbal newspaper, Hezbollah operatives surrounded the area where the explosion occurred, as smoke reached villages in the region. It is unclear whether anyone was injured in the incident.

Residents of the area reportedly heard a few consecutive blasts. According to an uncorroborated source, the compound serves as storage for missiles and arms previously transferred from the Syrian regime to Hezbollah.

Meanwhile, according to the Lebanese Daily Star, the Lebanese army reported Friday of four infiltrations of Israeli fighter planes into Lebanese airspace.

Whether it was Israel who set off these explosions or not, long may they continue, and long may our enemies have to look over their shoulder and be afraid of us.

We can fervently hope so although I have my doubts sadly. Unfortunately it’s now not certain that there really was a blast at Fordo after all. On the other hand if the UN says so, I’ll believe the opposite.

It’s all a game of shadows.

Thanks for your comment and very interesting link too, and welcome to my blog.

When asked by Army Radio about the scope of damage from the blast, Defense Minister Ehud Barak said he did not know, but added: “May there be many more like it.” There was no indication that the explosion was a deliberate attack.